INT. LUCIA’S BEDROOM- MORNING
LUCIA (blonde-haired tween) snores. Click. An alarm clock’s screen flickers “6:30” followed by ribbits. Lucia groans. Two beats. She shoves her covers off and pushes herself out of bed. INT. MATH CLASSROOM- TWO HOURS LATER In a room of colorful tables, Lucia sits in the corner with DAMIAN. DAMIAN This better be the last time I have to draw Mr. Trapezoid. I never knew I could hate a shape so much. LUCIA I think the directions say you have to rotate Mr. Trapezoid. DAMIAN Sh- A ribbit. Lucia jolts. She peeks at her classmates continuing to chat. LUCIA Damian, did you hear that noise? As Damian erases, his page tears. DAMIAN Come on! Yeah, Lucia? LUCIA Nevermind. Lucia peers at teacher MS. MEI bent over grading. She grips her pencil and grimaces. Three more ribbits. DAMIAN I think I do hear something. Was that a frog? Four more ribbits. Lucia’s cheeks flush. LUCIA I-I don’t know what’s going on! The other students freeze. Their stares penetrate Lucia. Ms. Mei glances up. A chorus of ribbits. Along bookshelves and table surfaces, frogs materialize. One hops onto Damian’s head and the boy jumps. DAMIAN What’s going on? Shrieking, the students swat at the frogs with their textbooks. MS. MEI I-I don’t know what’s happening, but-but please sit- A student clobbers a frog into Ms. Mei’s chest. Two more spring up from the teacher’s head. As the screaming continues, more frogs appear. Below her desk, Lucia curls into a ball. A sea of frogs form around her. LUCIA This is all my fault. This is all my fault. My anxiety is doing this to everybody. Damian ducks down beside her. DAMIAN AH! Why’s there so many here!? LUCIA Leave me alone. Another frog pops up from the floor and lands on Damian’s knee. DAMIAN If you’re the one who’s causing all this, you need to figure out how to get rid of this. I would rather redraw Mr. Trapezoid ten times than keep getting attacked by these stupid frogs. LUCIA Stop, Lucia. Stop. Stop. DAMIAN They’re just frogs, Lucia. How hard can they possibly be to get rid of? LUCIA Just frogs. They’re just frogs. Lucia’s eyes squeeze shut. She lets out a breath before opening her eyes. She stands. LUCIA Everyone. I’m sorry. This is all my fault. I can fix this. The students pause. The frogs keep ribbitting. Damian stands. DAMIAN How can you? Lucia closes her eyes. She takes a breath. Lets it out. Takes a breath. Lets it out. DAMIAN Oh. Damian follows Lucia’s example and a few of the frogs around them disappear. Lucia’s classmates shrug and glance at one another and slowly, each student along with Ms. Mei takes part in the breathing exercise. After a few moments, the frogs are gone. The school bell rings. Lucia smiles and opens her eyes.
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AuthorI'm Darcy Ridge, creating stories that all revolve around family and identity in a myriad of ways. In the past, I have shared multiple stories and published a novella online. You can find me on Wattpad and many other social media websites. They/them [Image Description: black background with the words "Social Justice and Mental Health Resources" in white in the center /end ID]
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